A nation duped? UK govt. paves way for GM babies

Britain’s government has allegedly misled the public with respect to a new IVF technique experts claim will herald an era of genetically modified babies.(Reuters / United Photos) / Reuters

Britain’s government has allegedly misled the public with respect to a newly developed invitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure that experts claim will lead to the birth of “genetically modified babies.”

A group of prominent scientists, including Lord Winston - a
long-standing expert in fertility treatment, have criticized
Britain’s Department of Health for attempting to furtively
introduce a new IVF technique that will allow the DNA of future
generations to be manipulated.

The British government has attempted to redefine the term
“genetic modification” (GM) to include a controversial new method
that will culminate in babies inheriting their genetic make-up
from three separate individuals, the scientists say.

Mitochondria are minute cell parts that cultivate
metabolic energy from glucose. They are controlled by 37
mitochondrial genes that form individual DNA molecules outside
cell nuclei.

Approximately one in 6,500 new-borns are afflicted with
inherited genetic defects annually. Related mitochondrial
diseases are often highly debilitating and painful, causing
chronic ill health, decreased quality of life and premature
death.

By attempting to integrate the donation of mitochondria into
IVF treatments, the Government hope to empower affected women
with an opportunity to have biological offspring who are free
of such debilitating conditions.

While mitochondrial DNA amounts to a mere 0.2 per cent of a
genome, the technique is particularly controversial because it
allegedly introduces the practice of genetic modification in
humans.

Hidden in the depths of a recently penned Department of Health
document, the legislative change has been orchestrated to
normalize mitrochondrial donation – a technique designed to
prevent genetically inherited diseases being propagated by
utilizing healthy mitochondria taken from a donor egg or embryo.

But those opposed to the scientific method argue that the use of
such healthy donor mitochondria will produce “three parent
embryos,” and could herald a new era of “designer
babies” and GM children.

While the British government has admitted it recently made the
decision to adopt “a working definition [of ‘GM’] for the
purpose of taking forward these regulations,” numerous
scientists believe this covert legislative shift is inherently
dishonest. They also caution it could seriously undermine public
confidence in medical experts who endorse the technique’s
state-wide introduction.

Should the related legislation be passed, the UK will be the only
state in the world where this practice is legal.

“The government seems to have come to the right decision but
used bizarre justification. Of course, mitochondrial transfer is
genetic modification and this modification is handed down the
generations. It is totally wrong to compare it with a blood
transfusion or a transplant and an honest statement might be more
sensible and encourage public trust.”

Ted Morrow, an evolutionary biologist based at the University of
Sussex, also sharply criticized the new definition of GM, which
notably excludes changes to human mitochondrial genes or any
other genetic material that is external to chromosomes in nuclei.

“My impression is the government is doing all it can to
contain and define these kinds of terms in ways that favor
mitochondrial replacement being introduced as an uncontroversial
therapy,” Dr Morrow told the Independent.

“They push the idea that mitochondrial DNA does nothing more
than regenerate more mitochondria, which are nothing more than
cellular batteries, and that mitochondrial genes don’t encode
traits relevant to personal identity and so on,” he added.

In an official statement last week, however, Britain’s Department
of Health contradicted the claim the practice equates to genetic
modification in humans.

“There is no universally agreed definition of ‘genetic
modification’ in humans – people who have organ transplants,
blood donations or even gene therapy are not generally regarded
as being ‘genetically modified’,” an official Department of
Health spokesperson said.

“A working definition” of genetic modification has been
employed in an effort to bring this new medical policy to
fruition, according to the Department of Health.

But Dr David King, of the Human Genetics Alert campaign, recently
argued the government is “playing PR games based on very
dubious science.”